Playbill: When you hear the summary for Wolf Play, it sounds like the kind of work that’s out to completely devastate you: It’s about the very real-life phenomenon of adopted children being abandoned by their adoptive family. But the most surprising part of Wolf Play by Hansol Jung, currently running Off-Broadway, is just how light it is, and how funny. And it’s mostly owed to its central character, a six-year-old boy named Jeenu. But Jeenu is not played by a real child. He’s a puppet, with no hair, mouth, or clothing (aside from a pair of blue sneakers). He is made of wood and cardboard, held together with bungee cords, with black dots for eyes.
4 comments:
The design of the toys are so interesting and how it has been used on stage is such an innovative way in showing performances on stage. This production seems extremely interesting, and I would definitely wish to see this production in person. In addition, the meaning of this production and the story behind it is also intriguing. The idea and story that it presents describes some struggles that people in modern day society has been facing and how to process through them. The idea of how to be good parents has always been an ongoing discussion throughout centuries. The story that focuses on a queer mother is so meaningful and demonstrating in how queer people in modern day society has been facing in. It is so exciting to productions with similar topic such as in has been presented on stage and being widely discussed. I can’t wait to see more productions like this.
I find the art of puppetry to be so fascinating in that it brings a new message and sense of awe to a story. By replacing a human with a puppet it gives it a sense of lifelessness that is attempting to imitate life. Based on the information given in the article about the play. The playwrights decision for the child to be played by a puppet was definitely a great decision. The puppet having no facial expression, being a light brown color, obviously being seen as being operated as an adult and its simplistic expression adds a number of thematic elements to the show. Specifically, how children often do not possess a voice within the society we live and their creativity and ability to grow and shift can often be blocked by adults. I would love to see this show and/or read the script because the playwright takes pride in the audience using their imagination which I find to be very beneficial and necessary as a theater viewer.
This production sounds absolutely gut wrenching, but I want to see it. I like how the director and the playwright creator handles such a serious and upsetting topic. Their portrayal doesn't take away from that seriousness but it also gives the audience a chance to breathe. I think with the 24-hour news cycle and how as a society we are becoming so obsessed with trauma and devastating events that often these tragic events are portrayed in ways that are more appealing to audiences. This play has the audience slow down and really sees humanity in this situation.
I also love that the rehearsal puppet became the actual one. There is something to be said about how of course the puppet is being operated or moved through an adult actor and so no matter what you weren't going to get this sense of realness and so by and this puppet not being hyper-realistic benefits the storytelling.
This article makes me want to talk about the fascinating effect and diversity of puppets and puppetry. I feel like puppets in general—but especially in the case of Jeenu—fall back to the human instinct of pareidolia, or assigning meaning to inanimate objects or anything ambiguous, a common example being finding human faces. I know that a rule of thumb in shows with puppetry (Lion King, Avenue Q,...), you are not to look at the actor holding the puppet, you are to look at the puppet itself, because the puppet is the actual character, even if the actors are emoting. Or, as another example, Randy Feltface - a standup comedian that appears as a puppet behind a desk. The experience is not lessened by the fact that a puppet is telling jokes, in fact, it may even be enhanced. I find it fascinating that we can feel pity or grief for a puppet. That’s the power of human empathy. When I saw the recent production of Into the Woods with its now famous Milky White puppet, it hit me like lightning - this was the perfect choice for this character. The original show had a static, plastic cow - which is funny in some moments, but left Milky White feeling insignificant. Then, you have the 2002 revival and many other modern productions, with someone in a big cow costume - you have that characterization that enhances the story, but often can be distracting and visually unappealing. THEN, we have the puppet. It’s perfect. Just the right amount of life balanced with being inanimate. Kennedy’s puppetry is right on the money. You can still keep the original gags of the inanimate cow, but at the same time, the cow has life. The audience can now feel the love necessary for Milky White in an unobstructive way.
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